Joined: 29 Sep 2004Posts: 1196Location: buried under a pile of books somewhere in Adelaide, South Australia

Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 8:25 am Post subject:

Thanks emily and woodstocker. I might have to buy some polenta/cornmeal so I can try this recipe. And other cornbread recipes._________________Doing what you like is freedom
Liking what you do is happiness

Polenta and grits are just both coarse ground corn meal. As I mentioned in my recipe (see Gingerpale's first link) I like to mix coarse and medium ground corn meal for my corn bread. The coarse ground provides just a hint of C-R-R-UNCH to the cornbread. Medium ground only makes the crumb a little wimpy for me. And I find using coarse ground only causes the bread to kind of fall apart.

This IS my grandmother's recipe. My SOUTHERN grandmother! It may actually be my GREAT grandmother's recipe!_________________L'appetit vient en mangeant. -Rabelais

I would like to know, though, do you (or your gramma!) cook certain beans to serve with this? I don't know what kind of beans are "right", or traditional--but I remember liking them, juice sopped up with the c-bread. (Lived in Clarksville, Tennesee for 2 years, long ago--my Dad a Naval officer working with the military in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.)

I was very surprised that cornmeal is not known everywhere--I would have guessed it to be common, like rice or potatoes.

In my family, the preferred accompaniement to cornbread is black-eyed peas - cooked with a hambone or smoked ham hocks. I often chop up leftover ham and toss it in my black-eyed peas. I have made vegetarian black eyed peas, but really I prefer them cooked with pork!

The southern tradition is to have black eyed peas for good luck on New Year's Eve. That should be the first thing you eat after midnight. So I make a big pot of peas and a pan of cornbread during the day and, we may only have a little dab at midniight - but we definitely have some before we go to bed! And I guess, all things considered, I've been pretty lucky in my life - so it must work!

I'm not actually a big bread eater, but I would drop EVERYTHING for cornbread right out of the oven! _________________L'appetit vient en mangeant. -Rabelais

Cornbread with black-eyed peas is a classic combination. Here in Texas, (and possibly elsewhere, I am not sure) a traditional favorite combo is pinto beans and cornbread. It is a peasant offering, but oh-so-wonderful when the beans are cooked with the right ingredients. My born-up-north husband looked askance when we were first married, but is now a fan.